Oslo & His Pal Jersey.

In a tizzy

I have a bit of scary news. Over the last week or so, i’ve had some concerns with Oslo.

Mid last week, he started ‘acting funny’. Stiff, arched back, reluctant to move, panting when at rest. Knowing all too well that there are absolutely the early symptoms of IVDD– I put him on immediate crate rest and contacted my vet. We got him a prescription for an NSAID (anti-inflammatory) and pain-med, and were instructed to keep him rested for at least the weekend.

Well, over the weekend he seemed to bounce back. His little ’bout’ seemed behind us, and I wrote it off in my mind as perhaps just a ‘tweak’. (Anyone who suffers from “a bad bad” knows what it means to “tweak something” and need a couple of days of rest.) I stopped worrying, thinking the worst was behind us. I relaxed the crate rules, I gave him some more freedom around the house, I eased up on his medications.

But I was wrong & I should have known better. It wasn’t behind us.

He was painful again today. Very painful. Painful enough that he actually YELPED out randomly when trying to lay down! It was scary and heartbreaking. Needless to say- back onto STRICT crate rest he went, and back into a complete tizzy I flew.

And in that tizzy I have remanded since.

I’m terrified. Visions of a 2nd surgery flash through my mind. How will we afford it again? Oslo’s back will not be covered by insurance because it’s a “pre-existing condition”! How will I manage the time off work? I can’t bear the thought of Oslo having to go through it all again. I can’t bear the thought of *myself* having to go through it again. Just thinking about it sends bile & panic up into my throat.

My husband tells me to take deep breaths. To take things one day at a time. He reminds me of the effectiveness of ‘conservative treatment’ for IVDD when done strictly and properly. He reminds me of how well Jersey responded to the conservative approach just earlier this year! All of these things I know intellectually, of course. But the problem with seeing your loved one in pain is that your brain seems to stop working and a very raw, primal, emotional part of you takes over.

So, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t completely freaking out. But my husband is right– at this point, we can just take it one day at a time. We’re going to continue with crate rest (strict!) We’re going to continue with the meds (strict!) and we’re going to cross all of our crossables and think positive thoughts.

Lily is still recovering from her (second) back surgery. She cried out in pain too. It was her disc. Take a deep breath and keep him calm. Since I lost Benny a year ago to liver cancer, I was scared and a bit embarrassed but I opened a Go Fund Me account. It was amazing how much friends and strangers stepped up and donated. Check out GoFundMe.com. Sending lots of good vibes your way
Lily & Edward

Gosh I’m so sorry to hear that, I don’t know what I’d do if my Ralphie had to go through that surgury again, and it is is so expensive it is stupid 😦 Hope all goes well, keep us updated and crossing my fingers for you 🙂